


Cast Some Light

by Jetrocketboy



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 19:47:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16456160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jetrocketboy/pseuds/Jetrocketboy
Summary: Soldier 76 planned to tell his fellow teammates of his identity, but wasn't expecting one of them to find out so suddenly. Now that Angela knows, will they be able to pursue their romantic feelings for each other, or is their love doomed before it could restart?





	1. Doctor's Visit

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I'm finally on AO3! Taken straight from Tumblr (captainjetrocketboy).

They were on another mission, like usual, but _damn_ , this wasn’t supposed to happen.

Soldier 76 usually isn’t the one to complain about things, but getting badly injured when they were so close to being done with the occurring firefight might have given him something to gripe about.

He hurried to get to cover, and once he rounded a sharp corner, he sat down, leaning his head back on the closest wall. 76 looked back from where he came from, making sure no one was following him. He caught a glance at the now crimson soaked sleeve of his jacket, a sizable tear showing where the bullet entered his arm. His head drooped as he went for one of his Biotic Field containers, but realized that he threw his last one away for Reinhardt.

A few minutes pass, then suddenly, he hears the familiar clicking of heels getting closer to him. He lifts his head up to see the angelic blonde rushing to his side. For once, he’s grateful that Angela went along with him during a mission. Any other time, he would try his best to keep interaction with her to a minimum. No way was he risking her finding out who he really is. He knew that if he spent too much time with her, spent too much time talking, he’d eventually slip up and blow his cover. Angela was always a keen observer, especially when it came to him.

“Looks like you’re pretty seriously hurt. We should get you back to the base quickly,” she hastily said to the soldier, heavily breathing from rushing around between everybody.

“I’m fine, just heal me up and we can meet with the others,” 76 sternly replied, trying hard to stifle the pain in his voice.

“That won’t be necessary, see?” Angela pointed a finger in the direction that they came from, suggesting that 76 should look out from the corner. He shifted his eyes from hers and turned his body slightly to take a glance back at the others. The last enemy conscious was taken out by Tracer, who quickly blinked behind the guy and knocked him out with the butt of one of her pistols. Guess he was too busy fussing over Angela that he didn’t notice the lack of heavy gunfire. “Now c’mon, the quicker we get that bullet out of you, the faster I can actually patch you up.” Angela offered her hand to him.

Soldier 76 grumbled something inaudible, and took Angela’s hand. The feeling was familiar, and something he desperately wanted to feel more often again. Of course, he couldn’t do this as much he used to, much to his annoyance. Remembering that he can’t let anyone find out who he is, 76 tried his hardest to push any thoughts of their relationship to the back of his head as Angela guided him back to the base, the others following in tow.

* * *

“Y’know, in the few weeks that you’ve been going out on missions with us, I don’t think I’ve ever had to stitch you up like this,” Angela muttered as she looped the threading through the soldier’s wound.

“Yeah, well, guess I didn’t have my head in the game that time.” _I was too busy thinking about you_ were the words that 76 left unspoken. He slightly flinched as she poked the needle into his skin. “Ah, hey can’t you just use like your Caduceus Staff to fix this thing up?”

“Oh, don’t tell me that someone is afraid of a tiny little needle?” Angela quipped, resulting in a huff from 76. “And, no, I cannot use my staff on your wound. For some reason, it malfunctioned while out in the field, and it still won’t work at the moment. Torbjorn is currently looking at it to see what went wrong.”

“Hmm, I see.” They both go quiet after that, which gives 76 time to think.

Right now, he’s very conflicted on what he’s feeling. On one side, he’s so glad to be able to spend some time around Angela. He just loves watching her deep in focus. He loves how beautiful she looks no matter what she’s working on. Something that he may have taken for granted back when he wasn’t known as 76. He’s thankful that Angela can’t see his blushing face behind the mask.

But then, on the other side, he’s burning inside. He’s mentally kicking himself for getting hurt so bad, because he knew that meant having to be treated by Angela, probably the person who could most easily recognize his identity if he made just one small mistake with his words or mannerisms. The fact that her Caduceus Staff wasn’t working didn’t make things better. He was hoping that once she got the bullet out, she could just tether the beam to his wound and in a matter of seconds he’d be as good as new. But no, he had to sit here for what felt like hours, wincing in pain every couple seconds from the needle sewing his wound together, in near silence.

Angela finally finished closing the soldier’s injury, and went to snip off the remaining thread. “Whew, done. It might be best for you to stay off missions for now,” she told 76 as she stood up from her rolling chair. “At least until I can get my staff working again.”

Partially thankful that the procedure is over, 76 also stood up from where he was sitting to grab his jacket. He picked it up, but then noticed that the left sleeve is almost completely soaked in his blood, not to mention the hole that showed where the bullet hit him. “Shit, I don’t think I can wear this around in the state it’s in.”

Looking up from where she was cleaning her tools, Angela took a glance at the ruined sleeve of the soldier’s signature jacket. “Just leave it here. I could probably stitch it and wash it.”

Knowing better than to argue with Angela, 76 set the jacket back down where he found it. “Well, uh, thanks doc for patching me up. I should get going.” To where, he doesn’t know yet, but he needs to get away from Angela as soon as possible. He’s lost a considerable amount of blood from the walk back, and he’s afraid that he’ll do something stupid while not clear-headed. He starts for the door, but her soft, gentle voice stops him in his tracks.

“Oh wait a moment.” He turns back around to see her coming towards him with white medical bandaging. “This is to help with the bleeding,” she quietly says as she wraps it around the freshly stitched wound. “If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to come by, okay? I’ll be here,” she tells him, hands lingering on his muscular bicep for longer than expected. She looks up at him, and the smile that she gives him is enough to make his face go beet red again. Behind the mask, he smiles back and nods the doctor farewell.

* * *

Scurrying out of the med bay, Soldier 76 was now walking around without any destination in mind. He would’ve loved to stay in there with Angela, but again, he couldn’t. He _fucking_ couldn’t. Because he’s a coward and he’s scared of how she’ll react to who he really is.

He wouldn’t blame her if she got angry at him. He lied to her, and pretty much everybody here, about his identity. He abandoned her, made her think that he died. He hurt her. That was last thing he ever wanted to do to Angela.

Then again, what if she wouldn’t get mad at him? Maybe, he’ll show off his face to her and she’ll just run up to him and hug him. Say something like ‘ _I missed you_ ’. Then everything will be okay after that. A naïve thought, maybe.

At this point, 76 was just torturing himself over this. He unconsciously made his way back to his sleeping quarters, and saw the ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ sign that he put up on the door. He entered the room immediately, and moved his hand behind his back to lock the door.

76 moved up both hands to the mask covering his face, and pressed two buttons, one on each side. A breath of pneumatic air puffed out, and soon the soldier’s mask was released from his face. He placed it on the bedside table, his eyes shifting from his mask to a pink and white picture frame.

It was a photo of him and Angela in casual clothes. He remembers the exact moment that he took that ‘selfie’, when he took her out to a decently fancy restaurant. When he showed it to Angela, she said that it was so perfect, that it could’ve been framed. So of course, he wanted to frame the picture so that he could give it to her. Maybe as a present for her birthday, but that stupid accident that ‘killed’ him had to happen before he could get the chance to.

Every time that he looks at the cutesy frame and the picture of who they used to be, 76 starts to tear up. Not enough to shed any on the floor, but enough to have some drip down his face.

‘ _You’re going to have to tell her eventually. The longer you wait, the worse it’s going to be. Stop being an idiot, Jack,_ ’ he tells himself. 76 shakes his head and wipes the tears off his face.

Honestly, he feels pretty tired from the mission, as well as from all the blood he’s lost, so he gives into his fatigue and plops down on his bed, careful not to aggravate his wound. Yeah, he’ll probably do as Angela told him and lay off the missions for a bit. He’s hoping that a few hours rest would take his mind off things, and to dull the pain from his freshly stitched injury.

His mind keeps wandering back to Angela, thinking about how he could tell her who he really is, and playing several scenarios in head over and over again, some more plausible than others. In a matter of minutes, though, Soldier 76 drifts off to the thought that, maybe, just maybe, Angela would still love him if she knew that he was actually Jack Morrison, the man that she fell for all those years ago.


	2. Disclosure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the cards are now laid on the table...

A harsh gasp escaped Soldier 76 as he sat up in his bed. He felt that his body was sweaty and his face was moist from tears. He looked around for a moment, taking in his surroundings. It was too dark to see anything, but he realized he finally woke up from his dream. Or more specifically, nightmare.

Dropping his head back down on the now tear-stained pillow, 76 remained laying there for a while. He was still replaying the nightmare that had just occurred in his head. It felt so surreal, and he was glad to see that it didn’t actually happen. No way was he going back to sleep now.

It was no surprise to 76 that he had yet again dreamed of Angela. It was a common theme in a lot of them. He’d dream of them sharing a domestic life, snuggling together on their couch, and watching a cheesy romantic film.

But then, there were those few dreams that would turn into nightmares. Angela gets kidnapped, tortured, or worse. She’d die in his arms, and it would be because of him. Those were the dreams that he remembered the most.

“Ah, fuck,” 76 hissed as he felt a sting of pain from his wound, unconsciously putting a hand atop the bandaging. He’s starting to regret not asking for any painkillers from Angela. He turned his head and looked at the clock beside his bed. It read ‘ _22:15_ ’.

Shit. 76 was going for, at most, an hour nap or so. Guess he was more tired than he thought. ‘ _I don’t think Angela’s going to be in her office this late. She usually goes to bed relatively early._ ’ Trudging off the bed, he stood up and stretched. ‘ _Guess it’s worth checking, at least. Don’t think I’ll be able to sleep after that dream_ ’.

Still wearing his regular pants and boots, along with his black t-shirt, 76 didn’t bother to change into anything else. The only thing he took with him was his mask, lazily holding it in his hand, as he opened the door to his room, and made his way to the bathroom first.

He went to one of the sinks and placed his mask beside it. Splashing some water on his face, he thought at least this way, the tear stains on his face wouldn’t be so noticeable. Looking up at the mirror, the soldier saw just how much time has taken its toll on his features. He was getting old, and a few wrinkles started to show. His stubble was also mostly grey now, as opposed to blond. He’ll have to shave that soon, but not right now. The pain in his arm was starting to get worse, and he really needed some painkillers.

Tiredly, Soldier 76 left the bathroom and walked slowly over to the med bay. He had his doubts that Angela would even be there, but he saw that the lights were still on, so hopefully she was there. He arrived at the entrance to Angela’s office, and knocked on the door lightly.

* * *

Hearing the knocks on the door, Angela fluttered her eyes open as she sat up from her sleeping position. ‘ _Oh, I must have fell asleep,_ ’ she thought as she lifted her head off the papers scattered on her desk. A slight damp spot on one of the papers caught her eye, suggesting a little bit of drooling.

A couple more knocks on the door came, along with someone saying: “Angela? It’s 76. Are you in here?”

“Yes, I’m here. One moment, please,” she mumbled, still very exhausted from late night research. She stood from her chair, and wiped her wrist across her lips, hopefully getting rid of any evidence of drooling.

“Hello again, 76. What brings you-” she opened the door, and looked up at the well-built soldier. What she saw though, when she laid her eyes on his face, made her whole body freeze.

“What? Are you okay Angela?” he started to asked her. But not even a second went by when he realizes what stopped Angela dead in her tracks.

He didn’t have his mask on.

‘ _Fuck. Fuck fuck FUCK! How could I forget about it?! It must still be in the bathroom!_ ’ 76 was beating himself up over this. He might be a trained soldier, but the pain from his injury combined with the tiredness of having just woken up was enough of a distraction to keep him from putting his mask back on.

“Angela… I-I can explain,” 76 nervously started, but Angela didn’t let him continue.

“No… no no no. You’re… you’re supposed to dead. I-” she backed up from the man in front of her. She didn’t know what to think of him anymore. “I saw you get buried! I cried at your funeral! I… I must be still asleep. This is just a dream…”

76 didn’t know what to do. His secret was out, and he didn’t plan for her to find out so soon. Of course, he wanted Angela to be the first to know about his identity, but not like this. Not so suddenly. It was crushing him to see her like this. He wanted to comfort her, hold her in his strong arms. He took a step forward, but she took another step back.

“No… this isn’t a dream, is it?” she quietly muttered to herself, almost a whisper. Her head was looking at the ground, not able to stare him straight in the eye. “You’re really here… Jack.”

“Angela…” 76 didn’t know what to say, so once again, he closed the distance between them, slowly.

“Stop. Don’t come near me.” Her voice became harsh, almost scaring him. He’s never heard her so, distraught. As if she couldn’t decide what to feel about this sudden reunion with her ‘dead’ lover. She snapped her head up to face him. “How, how could you do this? How are you able to even live with yourself? You pretend to die, make all of us think that you’re dead, and then decide to join us again as this ‘Soldier 76’ person. I-I don’t understand. Why not tell us? Why not tell _me_?”

76 hesitated with his words. He didn’t want to say anything that would push her off the edge. “Because… because I was afraid of what you would think.” Damn, this was harder than he thought it was going to be. He had many reasons why he left going through his head, but all of them were selfish. “After the accident, I was done with Overwatch. There was too much going on, so I… I-I just ran away from it. There was no point in trying to save something that was already done for.” A hint of shame was present in his voice.

Angela looked back down, and tried to take in his story. She tried to believe him, but still… How could she trust him now? He’s lied to her for weeks about his identity. He didn’t trust her enough to be upfront about it, so why should she? “You, you have no idea what I went through after you died, what all of us went through.” She couldn’t keep it in anymore. She lets out a wracking sob, crossing both arms and holding herself. “W-we were a team. A fa-family. We were supposed to stay together to end…” her voice faltered as she trailed off.

All 76 could do was watch as the woman in front of him crumbled. He slumped a little, and looked away. The scene playing out was ripping his heart apart. There was nothing he could do, he felt entirely powerless. Angela’s broken voice caught his attention once again.

“The Overwatch family was all I had. I didn’t know what to do at first when it disbanded. I-I was lost. I was so alone… I-” she bit her lip as she paused for a moment. “I missed you so much.”

Those last few words were the tipping point. It was his turn to start pouring tears. “I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” It was all he could say. He clenched his hands as his gaze dropped to his feet.

It was quiet in the office. Only the sounds of both people sobbing filled the room. Angela tries to stop, but she can’t. Her body keeps shaking as she digs her hands deeper into her sides. Soldier 76 wasn’t doing any better. Minutes slowly pass by, until eventually Angela composed herself. She still was sniffling, but the tears stopped dropping from her eyes.

76 noticed that he was the only one still crying, so he looked back up at Angela. To his surprise, she started to close the distance between them. When he takes his first step toward her, he opens his arms, inviting her into a hug. Angela stops for a moment, then lifts her head to face the soldier. Her brows knit together in anger as she pulls a clenched fist back. Catching the soldier off guard, she managed to punch him hard on his left cheek.

The blow to his face caused 76 to trip a little, lifting his hand up to his cheek. It started to sting with slight pain, but wasn’t too bad.

Angela takes a step back and takes in a deep breath. “Was there something that you came here for, _76_?” She says his name with a hiss.

“Uh, j-just… painkillers.” 76 struggled to respond, as he knew Angela was still pissed at him.

Still scowling at the man, Angela walked behind her desk and opened a drawer. She took out a small bottle of Advil and tossed it to 76 without a word. In one fluid motion, he caught it.

“Now if you excuse me, I should get some sleep.” Angela snarled as she walked past the soldier. He followed her out of her office, turning off her lights as he exited through the door. However, he didn’t get far when Angela turned around to face him, face still covered in frustration. “Don’t follow me. You should get to bed, too, 76.” She turned back around on her heels and made her way down the wide hallway, leaving 76 to stand there, a sinking feeling in his chest as he watched her get farther and farther away from him.

The words ‘ _Don’t follow me_ ’ echoed in his head. He messed up, big time. He wanted Angela to know who he was. He had intended to tell her eventually, but hadn’t planned the time would come so soon.

Defeated, 76 made his way back to his room, only stopping by the bathroom to retrieve the mask that was still lying next to the sink he used earlier. Placing the mask on his bedside table, he sat on his bed, throwing the bottle of painkillers against the wall. All he did was rest his arms on his knees and put one hand to his forehead. He started crying, and didn’t move from his position for the rest of the night.


	3. Atone For My Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack tries to fix things with Angela.

The sun was rising in the sky, just over the horizon. Shades of orange and yellow seeped into the soldier’s room, still not moving from his position.

76 ran out of tears hours ago, but he didn’t bother to lie down and go to sleep. How could he sleep after what happened? The whole situation kept playing in his head, and he just couldn’t get over how much he messed up.

The soldier was still resting his arms on his knees, with one hand on his forehead, until his bedside alarm clock went off. 76 jumped a little, then angrily slammed his fist on the off button. His eyes shifted from the now broken clock to the picture frame next to it.

‘ _You’re such an idiot, Jack. If only you had told her sooner. Then maybe things would better than they are now,_ ’ he thought as he grabbed the photo and stared at it. ‘ _Now she probably hates you, and she never wants to see you ever again._ ’

A few knocks interrupted 76’s thoughts, and he turned to face the door. Then, he heard a high-pitched British accent come through. “76? It’s Tracer. We were wondering if you wanted to have breakfast with us. Angela made her world famous waffles!”

The mention of Angela’s name caused 76 to flinch slightly. “No, just leave me alone.”

“O-Okay, are you sure? Everyone else is out here,” Tracer hesitantly responded after hearing the despair present in his voice.

“I said, leave me alone. I’m… I’m not hungry,” he distantly said as his voice became quieter, looking away from the door.

There was no response, so 76 assumed that Tracer had taken his word and left him be. He went back to his original position, and gazed at the photograph of him and Angela. Not even five minutes went by until another knock startled him out of his thoughts.

“Tracer, I said to leave me alone.” 76 harshly barked out at the person on the other side of the door. When no response came, he tried again. “I’m not going to tell you again!” Still no response, instead the person knocked again.

Frustrated at this point, Soldier 76 swapped the picture frame for his mask and stood up from where he sat. Snapping it to his face, 76 strode over to his door. “Hey, if you think this is funny, just wait ‘till I get-” he froze as he opened the door and saw who was on the other side.

“Look, just because you’re wallowing in self-pity doesn’t mean you have to skip breakfast. That’s not considered healthy,” Angela said to him, wearing a small smirk on her face.

76 was dumbstruck, and his mouth was slightly ajar. Not like she could see it, anyway. “Angela! I-I thought… I thought I’d be the last person you wanted to see right now…”

“Oh, Jack,” the way she casually said his name made his heart skip a beat. “I can’t stay mad at you. I know I didn’t handle it well last night, but can you really blame me?” Angela took a step forward and put a hand to his chest. “We’re still going to have to talk about this later, but for now, you should get something in your stomach.”

She patted him a few times as she took his hand in hers and led him to the cafeteria. Flustered, 76 didn’t have anything to say. He was afraid of ruining this moment between them. Instead, he just let her take his hand and followed her towards the scent of fresh made waffles.

* * *

A roaring burp rumbled throughout the cafeteria. “Ha! Try to beat that, Reinhardt!” Zarya proudly exclaimed. They were having a burping contest.

Reinhardt didn’t say anything in response, only grumbled under his breath and looked away in defeat. Mei, D.Va, and Tracer were applauding and congratulating Zarya, while McCree, Torbjorn, Lucio were comforting Reinhardt for losing.

“Hmpf, whatever.” Reinhardt looked towards Angela. “Well, anyway, thanks for the breakfast Merc. It’s good to have a hearty breakfast before missions!”

“Yeah, thanks for the delicious waffles, Merc!” shouted Tracer, as she stuffed another bite into mouth.

Angela was sitting across from Soldier 76, who behind the mask was staring at her, taking in how beautiful she is. He’s thankful that she isn’t _so_ mad at him anymore. “Oh, it’s no problem. Since I can’t be out there supporting you guys, the least I can do is give all of you a good breakfast!” Angela lovingly told the rest of the team.

When she mentioned that she couldn’t be out there with them, 76 raised his brows and thought: ‘ _Her staff still isn’t working? That’s strange…_ ’ Before he could ask her about it, Pharah beat him to it.

“You’re not coming with us? How come?” Pharah asked with a confused look apparent on her face.

“My staff, it is still not working. According to Torbjorn, it might take a few days for him to figure out what’s wrong. So, in the meantime, I guess I’m staying here,” Angela quickly responded.

“Hmm, interesting. I knew that the soldier was not coming with us,” Pharah pointed a finger at 76, without even giving him eye contact. “I was not aware that you would also be staying at home base.”

“Yeah, I didn’t know either,” 76 confessed, shifting his gaze from Pharah to Angela.

“Oh, I thought everybody knew… But do not worry! I’m sure you guys will be fine. If anyone gets hurt, god forbid, I’ll just fix you guys up when you get back.” Angela stood up from where she sat at the table and looked at a clock that was displayed in the cafeteria. “You guys should get going. Just make sure to clean up after yourselves and put the plates in neat stacks.”

“Yes, mom,” D.Va sarcastically muttered as she got up and cleaned her spot with a paper towel. The others started to do the same, while also putting their dirty plates in neat stacks in the center of the table at which they all ate at.

“We’ll see you guys soon! Bye Merc! See ya 76!” Tracer yelled across the room as she, along with the others, walked out of the cafeteria, leaving only 76 and Angela alone together.

“Need help with the dishes? I’d be happy to do them for you,” 76 asked Angela as he picked up a stack of plates.

“Are you trying to atone for last night?” Angela quickly responded, resulting in a scoff from the soldier.

“No, I’m just trying to be helpful. Since I’m not allowed out in the field because of this,” 76 bobbed his left arm, drawing attention to his bandaged injury. “I might as well make myself useful here,” 76 told her as he slowly made his way into the kitchen, placing the stack of plates in the sink. Angela followed suit as she gathered a few dish towels.

“Well, in that case, then yes. You may do the dishes. I’ll be out there wiping the table.” Angela stopped for a moment, then stepped near 76 and whispered: “Don’t forget about the other two stacks.” She gave another smirk to him as she made her way back to the cafeteria as 76 watched her walk away.

* * *

After a half hour or so of doing dishes, 76 took a deep breath as he dried the last plate. He set it with the other dried plates in a cabinet just above the sink.

Stretching his muscles, 76 made his way out of the kitchen and out into the cafeteria, where Angela was just finishing scrubbing down the sticky and crumby table.

“Phew, they might be heroes, but they sure can still be quite messy sometimes,” Angela huffed to 76, exhaustion clearly evident in her voice.”

That caused him to chuckle a little bit, a low, deep sound that Angela could just barely hear. “Yeah, well you know how some of them can be.”

“Please, tell me about it,” Angela giggled as she picked up the dirty cloths and walked over to the kitchen. 76 followed along next to her.

She placed the towels next to the sink, neatly folding them in the process. It was quiet between them, but they were content just being together. Some tension still remained, though, something that 76 felt the need to point out.

“So, uh, are we, like, cool now?”

Angela looked at the man as she folded and placed the last towel in place. He couldn’t read what she was thinking, her face having a blank expression. “We’re cool, for now. We still need to talk about this later.”

76 nodded in agreement. He thinks it would be nice to finally have someone to vent to. Someone he could talk to about all of this crap that’s he’s done.

Silence came between them as they both walked out the kitchen. Angela was the first to speak up. “Well, I know what I’m going to do. I’m probably going to be holed up in my office, catching up on some of my research. What are you going to do, Jack?”

The mention of his name caused him to flinch again. He wasn’t used to her using it so casually. “I, uh… I actually don’t know. Maybe hit up the target practice range?”

Angela nodded, then turned to face him. “Well, okay then. I’m heading for my office.” She gave 76 a big smile, then playfully punched his good arm. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

She started to walk away, but 76 nervously blurted out a question. “D-do you… hate me?”

Angela paused, then once again turned on her heels and met his eyes with hers. “What? No, of course not. I don’t hate you, Jack.” She took a step forward. “I might have been pissed at you, yeah, but I never hated you. It’s just that, I don’t think I can trust you anymore. After lying for so long to us. To me.”

She might as well have sliced his heart in half. ‘ _She… she doesn’t… trust me?_ ’

Angela noticed his posture change, and said: “Look, we’re just going to need to talk to each other. I have some work to do for now, but once I’m free, we can, I don’t know, what can we do?” She tapped her finger on her chin, pondering what activity they could do while also talking about the situation.

“H-how ‘bout dinner?” 76 cleared his throat before continuing. “I’ll cook. Since you made breakfast, I’ll make us dinner. Just the two of us.”

Awaiting her response, 76 awkwardly stood there. He was starting to sweat a bit and his face started to go red, thankful that she can’t see his flushed face.

Worrying that she didn’t like the idea, a weight was lifted from his shoulders as he heard her say: “I would love that. I just hope you’re cooking skills are as good as mine.”

Grinning behind the mask, 76 suddenly became ecstatic. “Great! So it’s a da- deal?”

“Deal. Just don’t blow up the kitchen before I get there.” Angela laughed as she started walking backwards, still facing towards the soldier. “I’ll be done probably around 8 or so, okay? I’ll see you then?”

“I’ll see you then.” 76 waved goodbye to Angela as she turned around and strode away to her office.

‘ _Fucking great. Now I gotta learn how to cook. The things I do for women…_ ’ he thought as he rubbed the back of his neck. He walked back to his room, then went onto his computer and searched for ‘easy-to-learn recipes’.

‘ _For Angela though, it’s worth it._ ’


	4. Enticement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Angela have a talk over dinner.

Angela took her first steps into the cafeteria, and noticed the lights were dimmer. She was greeted by an unmasked 76, who was still wearing his normal pants and his black tee. He was standing next to a table with a silky white cloth draped over it. A large candle, along with a bottle of wine, were placed in the center. Two plates sat opposite of each other, both concealed by metal plate covers.

“Well, seems like you know how to make a good presentation,” she said to him as he pulled a chair back for her. She placed the box she was carrying under her chair. It was a medium sized box, but was thin.

“Yeah, well it took me forever to find those plate covers. Almost thought we didn’t have any.” 76 strode to the other side of the table and took a seat as well. “Go ahead, open it. The food’s not going anywhere.” He motioned a hand to the plate in front of Angela, awaiting her reaction to his dinner.

She used one hand to lift the cover off, and what she saw was underwhelming. It was a sandwich, with ham, turkey, and melted cheese, sliced into two pieces. Angela looked up with an amused face. “Sandwiches? Really? That’s what you ‘cooked’ for us?” she giggled, using air quotes to emphasize “cooked”.

“Well, originally I was going to make us pasta, but I accidentally burnt the noodles.”

That made Angela burst out in laughter, with 76 smiling and laughing with her. “I didn’t know you could even burn noodles. That’s pretty impressive, Jack!”

Once they both calmed down, 76 grabbed one of his sandwich halves. “So, are you gonna eat the sandwich or not? I worked hard to make these.”

“Yes, I am starving. Guess it’s better than nothing,” Angela responded, using a napkin to pick up one of her halves.

They started to eat in content silence, just appreciating each others company. They would occasionally exchange glances, smiling when they met eye contact. Sometimes they’d laugh slightly, holding their hand up to their mouths if they were still chewing. 76 was the first to finish both sandwich halves. He burped, but was comfortable enough around Angela to not bother hiding it.

“Oof, excuse me.” 76 leaned back in his chair and stretched out, closing his eyes. “I’d say that was a fine dinner, wouldn’t you agree?”

When he opened his eyes back up, he saw that Angela was just starting her second half. “Oh, sorry, I’m not finished yet,” she said as she gave an apologetic look to him. He stared at her for a moment, taking in the piercing beauty of her blue eyes.

“No, no, it’s fine,” 76 waved his hand slightly. “Just, take your time, okay? No need to rush. It’s still just me and you here, after all. It’s not like we have anything important to do.” He went to grab the wine bottle, pouring a little into a glass next to his empty plate. “Want some?”

Angela finished chewing, and set her half-eaten sandwich down on her plate. “Sure,” she smiled as she took the glass next to her and held it up. He filled it one-third of the way, and placed the bottle back in the center of the table.

She took a sip of the fruity wine, then went back to eating her sandwich. Minutes passed as the soldier just watched her eat, taking a few sips every couple seconds. Angela was taking her last few bites when 76 decided to speak up. “So, anything new going on? Any discoveries with your research?”

Angela looked up from her almost finished dinner and said: “No, not really. I’m still working on the usual stuff, but nothing new has come up recently.” She paused to take one last bite, then started again once she wiped her mouth with a napkin. “What about you?”

He took another swig of wine, then met her eyes again. “Nope. Nothing new for me, either.” He hesitated with next few words, clearing his throat before stammering out: “Well, um, except for you finding out who I am.”

Angela sighed, then grabbed her barely touched wine glass. “Yeah, guess now’s a good time to talk about that, huh?”

76 knew this was coming. He was anxious to talk to her about this. “Look, all I can say is I’m sorry,” he quietly sighed, placing his empty glass on the table. “I know I could have done things differently, but I…” his voice started to falter. “I-I just didn’t know what else I could’ve done. All of you thought I was dead, so at the time I thought that it was better to start a new life. Go off on a different path, run away, hunt down the people responsible for Overwatch’s downfall.”

He saw Angela put down her glass and look away, so he decided to take her soft, cold hands into his rough, calloused ones. “I’m sorry I left the team. I’m sorry I abandoned you. If I could go back, I would definitely make better decisions,” he quavered, feeling the sting of tears approaching.

“After your funeral, everything was chaos. No one knew what to do, and no one was there to take control. A lot of people tried, oh they tried, but no one was ever as successful as you at leading the team.” Angela sniffed, then turned her head to see his hands holding hers. “Sometimes I felt like hiding, to disappear from the world. To escape what was left of Overwatch. It was my closest thing to family, and it was just breaking apart…” She couldn’t hold it in anymore. A few tears escaped her eyes as she closed them, dripping onto the soft, white fabric.

76 wasn’t faring well, either. He was on the verge of tears, voice quiet and shaking as he spoke. “I-I’m so sorry, Angela. I-I had no idea what you guys went through, and I’m sorry.” He used his wrist to wipe away the moisture collecting at the edge his eyes, then placed his hand back on hers. “Can… can you ever forgive me?”

Pulling a hand away from his, she wiped the remaining tears off her face, then grinned ever so slightly at the soldier. “Of course I forgive you, Jack. Just promise me you won’t run away again, okay? Don’t leave me now, not when I just got you back.”

“I promise, Angela. I’d never do that to you again.” He stood up from his chair and, in a few long strides, walked to her side of the table, arms stretched out. She stood up as well, and leaned into his embrace. He rested his chin on top her head, taking in the smell of her hair. He closed his eyes, wanting to preserve this moment for as long as possible.

Minutes passed as they just stood there, basking in each others embrace, until finally 76 pulled away. “I, uh, got you something.” He bent down to reach for a small, hidden box under the table, handing it Angela.

It wasn’t wrapped, so she took off the top and looked inside. What she saw made a quiet gasp escape her mouth. It was a framed photo of both of them, before the accident, and they looked genuinely happy. She remembered that moment when he took that picture, even recalling saying that “ _it’s so perfect, it could be framed_ ”. She lifted the pink and white frame out of the box and stared at it for a moment. It brought tears back to her eyes, but this time, they were tears of joy.

“Oh my, Jack, I…” she used one of her hands to cover her mouth. “It’s beautiful.”

76 put on a big grin as he watched her react to his gift. “I wanted to give it to you for your birthday or something, but the accident happened first. Do you like it?”

She looked up at him, eyes sparkling from her tears. “I love it.”

Angela put the frame back in the box, then placed it on the table. She took a step forward as she wrapped her arms around him again. 76 didn’t say anything as he hugged back.

“Oh, almost forgot,” she said, pulling back and grabbing the box she brought with her from under her chair. She held it out for him. “I got you something, too.”

Raising an eyebrow, 76 took the box from her extended hands. It wasn’t wrapped either, so he immediately removed the cover, and inspected what was inside. He saw and recognized the familiar number, and lifted the box’s contents up. It was his jacket, looking good as new. No blood, and no bullet hole were present. It also smelled nice…

“Wow, thanks Angela. It looks great.” He went to put on the jacket, then enveloped Angela into another hug.

“You better like it. It took me forever to get the blood completely off,” she giggled as she returned the gesture.

76 just stood there, arms around Angela, appreciating how lucky he is to have her back in his life again. She might still not trust him, but they can work on that later. For now, they just wanted to be together, wrapped in each others embrace.

* * *

“Ugh, I think your plan is working too well.” Widowmaker muttered into her ear comm. “They’re going to make me throw up. Are the others still on that chase you sent them on?”

“Yes, and they have no idea that it’s all just a wild goose chase.” Reaper rasped out. “How are those two doing? Are they still together?”

“Yes, and it’s disgusting,” the woman hissed. “I don’t understand why I can’t just kill him right now. My sight is already trained on his head.”

“No. Not yet. I want to see him suffer, first. I want to make him feel the pain I feel.”

“Then why don’t I just kill the girl?” Widow moved her sniper slightly towards the right, so that the cross-hairs were aimed at Angela’s head.

“Leave her to me. I want to make her suffer, as well.”

Widowmaker dropped her gun, then turned away from where she stood watching the two heroes. “Well, I may have a plan. Something that, I think, will make them both wilt in pain.”

“Haha,” Reaper maniacally snickered. “I like where you’re going with this. Meet me back at headquarters and we will discuss your plan there.”

The woman grinned nefariously, pointed her hook to a nearby ledge, and flew into the shadows, hips swaying as she walked away.


	5. Swarming Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when things were getting better, something bad just had to happen...

“Well, Jack, I’d say that you’re recovering well,” Angela spoke as she wrapped the soldier’s wound with a fresh bandage. “Just remember to stay away from strenuous activity, for now.”

76 looked up from his injury and stared at her, a slight grin upon his face. “Angela, I told you that you can’t call me Jack when the others are around,” he said with a chuckle. He couldn’t get mad at her, even if he tried. “I don’t want them discovering about my identity that way. I’d rather be upfront about it.”

“And when are you planning to tell the others?” Angela inquired, eyes still trained on wrapping the white bandaging.

“Soon,” 76 answered, smile fading away.

Angela paused, and looked at him with a doubtful expression. “How long is soon? 5 weeks?”

76 scoffed, meeting her beautiful blue eyes. “I’m sorry about that, okay? Look, I was going to tell you, but…” he trailed off, unable to think of anything else to say. His gaze lowered to ground.

“I-I’m sorry, Ja- 76.” Angela continued to swathe his arm in bandaging, albeit slower than before. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“No, no, don’t apologize. You don’t have anything to be sorry about.” He assured as he took her hand in his, squeezing it softly. “Let’s just move on from that, okay?”

Angela didn’t say anything, only smiled and locked her eyes on the soldier. Their faces were so close, and she could feel the heat of his breath as it escaped his mouth. The scar that marked his face looked so large from this angle, and for a fleeting moment she wondered how it got there. Angela’s not sure if her heart has ever pounded so hard before.

76 started to close the distance between them, leaning towards Angela. His eyes slowly shut as he could almost already taste her soft, smooth lips on his. 

A sudden knock on the office door startled the two, both of them pulling away quickly. Flustered, 76 fumbled around on the examination table before standing up and reaching for his mask.

Angela, almost tripping over herself, made her way to the door. Checking that 76 had attached his mask to his face, she unlocked it and swung the door open. It was Tracer.

“Hiya Merc! I was coming by to tell you that-” Tracer stopped mid-sentence when she noticed that Soldier 76 was leaning against the examination table, silent and looking away from her. She took a glance at both of them, noticing that Angela’s face was a deep red. “Uh, was I interrupting something?”

“No, darling, you weren’t interrupting,” Angela fretted, voice cracking. She cleared her throat before continuing. “What can I do for you?”

“Uh-huh,” Tracer cheekily smirked. “I just came here to tell you that we’re going out on another mission. All of us are going, since apparently something big is going on. We were wondering if either of you are able to come along.”

Angela looked back at 76, gazing at his freshly bandaged injury. “Well, this soldier’s not going anywhere anytime soon.” She turned around to face Tracer. “As for me, well, can’t do much for the team without a working staff. Sorry.”

Tracer waved a hand at Angela. “Aw, don’t worry about it Merc. You two going to be okay holding down the fort while we’re out?”

“I think we handle ourselves. Stay safe out there, okay?” Angela said as she gave Tracer a warm smile.

“You got it, Merc. We’ll be back soon. See ya guys later!” Tracer blinked away in a flash of blue light, leaving Angela and 76 alone in the med bay.

“Well, seems like we’ve got the evening all to ourselves again,” 76 sighed as he removed the mask covering his face.

“Yeah, seems like we do.” Angela closed and locked the door, turned around, and leaned against the frame. “Any ideas on how we could spend it, Jack?”

76 tapped his chin with a finger. “Hmm, not really sure. Unless you want to have dinner with me again…” he gave Angela a suggestive grin.

Angela rolled her eyes when he mentioned dinner. “Last time we had ‘dinner’, the food was very underwhelming.”

76 huffed an amused laugh. “Oh come on, you said it yourself that the meal was really good!”

“If you could even consider that a meal.” Angela crossed her arms. “Any other ideas?”

Silence filled the room for a moment as both of them tried to think. 

“Nah, I’m drawing a blank.” 76 sighed as gave up.

“Same here.” She made her way towards the table 76 was sitting on moments ago, and started to clean it up. “Well, I’ve got some work to do, but it’s not a lot. Maybe we’ll have better luck thinking of stuff to do then.”

“Okay, cool. I’ll probably go hit the target range, polish up on my aim.” 76 walked towards Angela, wrapping his good arm around her. “My arm doesn’t hurt as much anymore, and I promise not to do anything crazy.”

“Good,” she responded as she patted his rough and scarred arm. “Once I’m done with my work, and I promise it won’t take long, I’ll meet you out there, okay?”

76 hummed in agreement, and pulled away from her. Opening the door, he took one last glance at Angela as he strode out of the room.

* * *

“Boom! Final target destroyed!” 76 exclaimed as the helix rockets exploded the last robot dummy in a bright blue flash.

“Well done, Jack,” Angela congratulated as she gave the soldier a golf clap. “You took every robot down, and even with a bullet injury. I’m impressed.”

76 turned around to see Angela walking towards him, a bright smile upon her face. “Heh, thanks Angela, it’s nothing.” His face began to heat up as she closed the distance between them. “And don’t worry about the injury, it doesn’t hurt as much anymore.”

“Just so long you don’t do any crazy stunts in combat,” she said as she put a hand on his shoulder. “Speaking of which, I’d say probably a few more days until you’re clear to be back out in the field.”

Then, 76 remembered something. “Wait, what about you? Is your staff working yet?” he asked with a half-worried, half-curious expression.

“No, it isn’t,” she sighed as she dropped her hand from his shoulder. “Torbjorn identified a strange substance that was in place of the normal biotic liquid. It looks exactly like biotic liquid, but it doesn’t heal, instead it inhibits healing.” She looked away. “I’ll have to do some more research on that.”

“H-hey, maybe I can help you,” 76 blurted out, clearing his through before continuing. “With your research.”

Angela looked back at the soldier, giving him a confused look. “Since I’m not allowed to go on missions yet, why don’t I spend the time helping you?”

That made her chuckle slightly. “Well, when you put it like that, I suppose I can have a research partner for now. Just promise you won’t do anything suggestive while working with me.”

76 scoffed before saying: “I promise, Angela.” He took her hand in his, and led her towards the target range entrance. “Do you want to head back inside and get started?”

Before she could answer, a burst of purple smoke erupted in front of both of them. 76 removed his hand from Angela’s, replacing it on her back and pulling them backwards.

“Woah! What… what was that?” she muttered out in between coughs.

“I don’t know, but stay alert. It could be an intruder.” He raised his rifle and scoped the surrounding area. “They could still be close.”

Suddenly, a shadow came around a corner, black as the night. It started to materialize into something, and 76 recognized the mask that was upon it. He pulled on the trigger to fire, but the bullets just phased through the dark figure.

“ _Reaper_ ,” the soldier said with a hiss. “What do you want from us?”

The man in front of them did not speak, only cackled as he summoned two guns in both of his hands.

76 went to fire again, but an ear piercing shriek from behind made him quickly turn around. It was Angela, and she had something shot into her neck. It wasn’t a bullet, but some sort of dart.

His heart sank as she started to fall, and he could only think of the worst case scenario. She was dead, this was it. He failed to protect the only person he truly loved. He dropped his gun and tried to grab her before she met the ground, but a sudden impact to the back of his head knocked him down as well.

His vision started to blur as he crashed on the floor, and the last thing he saw was the shadowy man picking up Angela’s limp body, and taking a glance at him. He could hear his sinister laughter echo in his ears before he vanished away completely.

‘ _A-Angela…_ ’

Then everything went black.


	6. You'll Be Alright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When it comes to Angela, Jack will do everything in his damn power to protect her.

Pain.

That’s all he could feel. His head was throbbing, so much so that he thought it would explode. His muscles were sore, and he couldn’t bring himself to stand up. He tried calling for help, against his better judgment, but he couldn’t release any words from his mouth.

_Angela._

The thought of her passed his mind, and gave him the energy boost he desperately needed. He once again tried pushing himself up on his shaky arms from the cold, hard floor of the practice range. He needed to be strong. For her sake.

With an audible groan, the soldier steadied himself on his two legs, unconsciously rubbing the back of his head where Reaper’s shotgun made contact. He desperately tried to assess the situation in a logical manner, but the fear and dread of what they’re going to do – or are doing – to his Angela are clouding his thoughts. Acting on a whim with no concern for his injury, 76 swiftly grabbed his rifle from the floor and began to sprint to his room. ‘ _You have to find her_ ’ was the mantra that repeated in his head. He didn’t exactly know how yet, but he had to act now. He wouldn’t admit it openly, but he feared what will happen if he isn’t fast enough.

* * *

Pain.

That’s all she could feel. Her head felt hazy, as if she woke up from a bad sleep. Her neck was sore, and she could feel a small scar where the dart pierced her skin.

The floor was rough, and cold as ice. The room she in was almost completely dark, only illuminated by a few construction work lights. Her body felt numb, and she couldn’t bring herself to sit up, let alone stand. When she attempted to lift herself on her arms, she let out a painful groan, falling straight down onto the hard surface.

She let out a raspy call for help, desperately hoping that someone would hear her. But she knew that wasn’t likely. She doesn’t know where she is, and she’s afraid to acknowledge that no one is around to save her. She could only hope that her soldier would somehow find a way to rescue her.

She was alone, and she could only wait for what’s to come.

* * *

Soldier 76 burst into his living quarters, and hastily began to gather supplies. Biotic emitters, pulse ammo, a spare pistol, and most importantly, his tactical mask. Bringing the visor close to his face, it quickly attached with a puff of pneumatic air. He then stuffed the ammo capsules into his leather pouches before briskly wrapping the belt around his waist. He attached the emitters to an extra bandolier, as well. Paying no mind to the evident mess that was just created, 76 exited the room and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. 

He was almost to the dropship bay when his eyes caught sight of Torbjorn’s workshop in his peripherals. His mind began to formulate an idea, and he came to a sudden stop, his boots skidding on the smooth floor. Dismissing the idea that he was essentially invading the engineer’s private space, his eyes darted from pieces of scrap metal to various devices before landing on the contraption that he instantly recognized. Angela’s Caduceus staff was laid on a wooden desk, seemingly untouched. The soldier picked it up, then proceeded to insert it between his back and bandolier, where the staff stayed tightly in place.

Resuming his sprint, he wasn’t quite sure what bringing Angela’s staff would do for him. Hell, he didn’t even know if the damn thing worked. But he had this feeling that it could be potentially useful, whether as a weapon or a tool. Either way, he’s made up his mind and wouldn’t go on without it.

Entering the massive hangar where the Overwatch dropships were kept, 76 was thankful that they had more than one ship. The others were still gone, and he had assumed that they’d taken a dropship to travel to wherever their mission was. His suspicions were confirmed when he could only see one other dropship still present. He considered waiting for the rest of the team to come back –  safety in numbers and all that – but again 76 was afraid to lose precious time.

Like a mad bull, Soldier 76 hastily made his way into the only other dropship where he was met with a perplexing thought. Gazing at the holographic globe present in his sight, he could feel his heart beat furiously when the realization struck him.

He had no idea where to go.

76 was so lost in his fear that he hadn’t even considered thinking of a solid plan. Such temerarious actions were now coming back to sting him.

‘ _Shit! Now what? I-I don’t even know where to look for you…_ ’ The anger the soldier was feeling made way for a heavy sorrow that weighed on his entire body. He collapsed to his knees on the floor of the dropship, then pushed his rifle to the side as tears began to steadily flow through his blue orbs. The adrenaline that surged through him was the only thing keeping the man from falling apart, but it quickly dissipated as he was met with a roadblock. Normally these kinds of emotions were kept away, never to be seen by the light of day. Terror. Misery. Heartbreak. But the absence of anyone’s presence made him think that it was okay to release some of it out.

What felt like hours passed by before a beeping sound caught the soldier’s attention. He lifted his head up to see blinking lights radiating off the globe. He recognized the familiar line that began to dance around the hologram. It was purple instead of blue, though. Eventually, it landed on a peculiar location. One that he happened to be well acquainted with.

A pin extended from the globe, as well as a name that translated to: _Giza_.

The engines of the dropship suddenly roared to life as the aircraft rumbled and began to hover. In any other circumstance, Soldier 76 would have questioned the convenience of the coordinates entering themselves in. But if there was even a chance that this ship was going to take him to where he needed to be, then he had no questions to ask.

The man quickly gathered himself together then sprinted up to the front seats of the ship, where he allowed the aircraft to take him away.

_‘Hang in there Angela. I’m coming for you.’_

* * *

Angela had no choice but to pace around in her prison. That didn’t stop her from making small observations of her environment.

_‘Sand. There’s a lot of sand in this makeshift cell. Metal bars. They’re covering the two visible exits. Shafts of cold steel keeping me in here. They aren’t quite secured into the ground, but I’m not strong enough to pull them out myself.’_

And she also noticed quite possibly the most out of place thing in this cell. Well, she wouldn’t say it’s a thing. Rather, it’s a person. A woman, too. She was unconscious and lied face down, and Angela wanted to check her pulse or breathing to see if she was still alive. Before she could though, a pair of clawed hands violently grasped the metal bars. The loud sound startled her, and made her jump back towards the nearest column.

“Look who’s awake. Glad to see you up.” The slow and raspy voice was instantly recognized by Angela.

“Reaper,” she spat out.

The ghastly man let out a menacing laugh. “Ah, so you remember me. Are you comfortable in there?”

She didn’t respond, and tried her hardest not to make eye contact.

“Well, don’t worry. You won’t be in there for much longer. That I can promise you, _Angela_.”

The mention of her name made her heart race, but she wouldn’t be able to think much else of it. From the corner of her eye, she could see the black figure pull out a gun from behind his coat. But this wasn’t your typical gun; there were three blue prongs at the front, with a big yellow circle encompassing the barrel.

Those were the last things she saw before another dart pierced her forearm. Almost immediately, she felt her eyes become heavy. Her legs quickly gave out, and she hit the rough ground face first. Her mind began to slip back into darkness, but not before she could hear the fear-inducing cackle of her captor.

* * *

The flight over to Giza was a long and agonizing one for Soldier 76. The thrusters reached their maximum speed a while ago, but time couldn’t pass any slower. Fear was constantly at the front of the man’s head, hoping that it wasn’t too late to save her. He sat at the edge of his seat, legs bouncing and hands tightly clutching the smooth but worn surface of his rifle. 76 tried to focus on the clouds in the night sky passing by the dropship’s hull to try and relax, but the concern still poked at his mind.

‘ _C’mon you damn thing. Move faster!_ ’

Suddenly, the soldier noticed the glimmer of the moon’s shine on a glossy surface. The familiar sight of the Temple was welcomed, and a brief wave of relief passed through his body. He knew immediately he had finally made it. As if he needed any more confirmation, the dropship began to slow down and descend towards the surface. The landing sequence took place right outside the stone walls of the town. Sand was blown around as the massive aircraft contacted with the desert ground. Soldier 76 sprang up from the chair he sat on and sprinted to the hatch doors. As soon as they completely opened, he bolted outside into the cold desert air.

In the near distance, an abandoned transporter truck menacingly towered over the soldier. He hastily sprinted closer towards it, noticing some surrounding construction scaffolding, as well. They were no match for the enhanced maneuvers of the man, as he easily jumped over them with no problem. Soon enough, the arches of the wall gateway passed overhead and Soldier 76 found himself in the town market, devoid of any other people.

At least, that’s what he thought until he made his way to the entrance of the Temple of Anubis. There, even under the dim light of the moon, he could see the black garbed figure of his old comrade. He stood at the top of the steps with confidence, as if he was waiting for 76 to arrive.

“Reaper,” Soldier hissed under his breath, coming to a stop. His heart pounded both from the run and the tension he could feel between them.

“Took you long enough. That dropship of yours couldn’t move any faster?” Reaper maintained the slow raspy tone, his arms crossed and head tilted upwards.

Soldier 76 didn’t have the patience to deal with this. “Cut the bullshit. I know you know why I’m here, and you are not going to get in my way.”

“Heh. Getting right into it, eh Jack? You haven’t changed a bit.”

Without warning, Reaper quickly drew an unfamiliar gun from under his coat. A dart flew out and was aimed right towards 76. It would’ve pierced into the soldier’s chest had it not been for his heightened reflexes. A helix rocket was launched as the distance between the fighting men began to close. Reaper jumped back to dodge the incoming missile, and made a near audible growl as he began to sprint backwards. 76 followed in pursuit. Soldier knew how this battle needed to end. It was only a matter of doing it that would be the hard part.

Now atop the small bridge leading into the Temple, Reaper swiftly summoned his two signature shotguns, and skidded his boots on the stone as he shifted direction. A barrage of bullets sprayed down the path, with some of them grazing 76. The soldier rolled into cover, hastily opened a biotic field and smashed it into the sandy ground. As soon as his minor injuries healed, 76 poked around the corner and fired a couple shots at the shadowy figure. He too then moved into cover.

The equal strength and tactical prowess of both former commanders would inevitably drag this fight on for an extensive amount of time. Time that 76 was afraid he didn’t have. There had to be some way to turn the tide in his favor…

Suddenly Soldier 76 realized that he might have just the thing. Angela’s staff. The thing was miraculously still strapped to his back despite all his running. Removing the staff from between his back and his bandolier, it took him a moment to figure out how to do what he wanted to do. He could hear the heavy steps of Reaper closing in. He had to act fast.

‘ _Okay, Jack. You’ve been in countless missions with Angela. This shouldn’t be a problem._ ’ 76 thought as he took out a spare handkerchief and tied it around the button that would activate the staff’s damage boosting power. Sure enough, the soldier’s ingenuity paid off as a stream of blue nanobots surged through the staff and tethered to his body. Jabbing the device upright into the sand, 76 jumped out of his cover and prepared to aim right at a charging Reaper.

“ **I’ve got you in my sights.** ” Soldier 76 wasted no time and fired a flurry of helix rockets, small bolts of electricity escaping the barrel of his gun. Reaper was caught off guard, and was knocked down by the explosive knock-back and damage of the rockets. Before Soldier could finish him off, Reaper reverted to his wraith form and flew away.

If he wasn’t still looking for Angela, Jack would have called Reyes a coward for running away again.

But right now, while he had a moment of respite, he seized the opportunity and pressed on his search. Turning around, 76 removed Angela’s Caduceus staff from the sand and untied the handkerchief. Placing it back between his bandolier, he approached the official entrance of the Temple of Anubis, where he was met with a crude makeshift prison. Glancing between the scrap pieces of metal, he instantly recognized the slouched silhouette of his lover.

“Angela!” the soldier cried as he was met with an intense feeling of relief. As he leaned his rifle on the wall behind him, a desperate 76 attempted to tear the metal scraps out of the ground.

“Jack?” Angela’s voice was low and was heavy with fatigue. “Oh, Jack!”

His sheer strength was enough to rip a couple bars out before he stumbled down the steps and to the one person he cared about most.

“My god, Angela, are you okay?” Although she wouldn’t be able to see it, tears began streaming down the man’s war torn face. “I-I was so worried about you.”

Angela was enveloped in the soldier’s warm strong arms. She wrapped hers around his neck, returning the much-welcomed embrace. “Me too. I thought this was it for me.”

“You know I wouldn’t let that happen. Not now, and not ever.”

The two just remained in silence. They had been through a lot today, and they both knew that they needed a moment of solace.

After a few minutes in each other’s arms, 76 finally spoke up. “We should get you out of here. The dropship’s right outside the town walls.”

Without saying anything, Angela acquiesced and attempted to stand.

“Can you walk? Here, let me help you.”

“W-wait, we should also take…” Before Angela could finish her sentence, she saw that there was nobody else in her cell.

“Take what, Angel?”

But, she was sure that… “N-Nothing. Let’s go…”

The two began to make their way back when a dark mist passed by their feet. “W-What was that?” Angela croaked.

76 knew exactly what it was. Or rather, who it was. Reaper returned and materialized back into his tangible form. “Stay back, Reaper. You don’t want to do this.”

The lack of a response only made 76 more apprehensive of what lengths the garbed man is willing to go to. Reaper took a step forward, shotguns in hands, and visibly clenched them in anger.

“Angela, stay here. I’ll take care of this.” The soldier helped Angela to lean on a nearby stone pillar before slowly approaching Reaper. To his annoyance, 76 realized he had left his rifle right outside Angela’s prison. He didn’t want to risk anything by going for it, so instead he drew his spare pistol and took aim at his former friend.

They stood there silent for a brief second before Soldier took the first shot. It landed directly in Reaper’s chest, but he only laughed as more black smoke encircled the figure. 76’s heart sank as he realized what Reaper intended to do.

“ **DIE MORRISON! DIE!** ”

In a blur of motion, Reaper emptied both his shotguns in a bombardment of bullets. Soldier 76 attempted to get out of the way, but was unable to before several of them entered his body.

He collapsed to the ground as he felt his conscience slip away steadily.

“NO!” 76 could barely hear Angela’s terror-filled scream as his eyelids became heavy with darkness.

“Both of your suffering isn’t over yet. I’m still coming for you, Angela!” Reaper shouted at the top of his lungs as he towered over the near dead corpse of the soldier.  “Just you wait and see!”

Before she could respond, Reaper turned back into his wraith form and disappeared into the night. Her heart was left broken, and she made haste for Jack. “Jack?! No, no, y-you can’t die now. Not like this…”

“I’m sorry Angela. I-I should have… should have seen that coming…”

“Please…”

“I… love you, Angela… Don’t think for a second that… that this is going to change that fact.”

Even with his visor still on, Angela knew that the man she loved had taken his last breath. And it was her fault. She wasn’t stupid. She had a feeling that this conflict between the three of them had something to do with her. If it wasn’t, then why hadn’t Reaper just killed her instead of keeping her locked up?

Her tears had been almost run dry before she realized something. Beneath the lifeless body of Jack, was something she was well familiar with.

Her Caduceus Staff.

How had she not realized this before? She blamed her previous grogginess and fatigue on that one. Removing the device from under the fallen soldier, she was thankful that he was smart enough to bring it along with him. Whether it was for this reason, she did not know completely, but was grateful nonetheless.

Grasping her staff in both hands, she raised it skyward and released a surge of restorative biotic energy.

“ **Heroes never die!** ”

The yellow glow emanated from Angela surrounded Soldier 76 as it brought life back into the man. 76 gasped as his eyes shot open. They wandered and darted, but eventually met a set of blue eyes. The corners of his mouth perked up.

“I knew you could do it, Angel.”

Angela couldn’t help but let out a nervous laugh despite her tear-stained face. “Welcome back to the land of the living, my love.” 

* * *

The coordinates for the Overwatch Headquarters had been set, and the dropship was on autopilot back home.

“Feeling okay?” Angela said as Jack had an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?” Jack let out an exasperated chuckle, before properly responding. “But, I’ll tell you this: I’ll never get used to that feeling.”

Angela could help but smile. Jack’s positive attitude, despite all the shit that went down, was quite contagious. “I get that a lot. You should just try not to do that often. I don’t think my heart can take it.”

“Well, let me take a listen.” He leaned down to Angela’s chest and listened intently to the beat of her healthy heart. “It sounds quite fine to me.”

“Jack, I’m serious about this.” Angela’s words greatly contrasted with her smirk and laughing.

Jack lifted his head up and made eye contact. He was awfully close to Angela’s face. “I know, and I’m sorry I made you worry, Angel. I promise to not die again.” He began to lean in for a kiss, and she met him halfway.

For a moment, she was happy. She was happy that Jack could save her. She was happy that they could have another chance at this. And yet, she had plenty of questions still. But not all of them did she want answers to. Who was that mysterious woman with her in that prison? Where had she gone? Where had Reaper gone? What did he mean by what he said?

She supposed only time will tell, but for now, all she could do was try to be happy.

“But I mean, if it does happen again, you’ll bring me back, right?”

And with Jack, she knew that being happy wouldn’t be hard.


End file.
